1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for mounting a closure on a housing or the like and a confining assembly and more particularly to such an apparatus which is inexpensive to construct and maintain and which is adapted to deploy the closure in a recessed attitude in both opened and closed positions, and which further positions the closure member in an opened position that defines the largest possible opening for access to the interior of the housing and the invention further- relates to a confining assembly having particular utility in the housing of a multiplicity of creatures such as poultry for such use as ground transport.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous situations in which the conventional interoperation of a closure and the structure on which it is mounted is less than satisfactory. The problems incident thereto are aggravated where there are a multiplicity of individual structures, or housings, and closures.
For example, it has long been the practice of poultry farmers to have their live poultry transported, such as to a slaughter house, utilizing a tractor-trailer rig particularly adapted for that purpose. In most situations, the trailer mounts a multiplicity of poultry cages which are employed individually to confine relatively small numbers of birds to prevent them from injuring themselves, or other birds, as they are being transported. Typically, the poultry cages are mounted in closely adjacent relation and each cage has an individual gate or closure which is selectively movable to confine the birds internally of the cage.
Such conventional tractor-trailer rigs produce numerous laudable results, including increasing the total number of fowl which can be transported simultaneously and protecting the birds from injury during such transport. However, they also suffer from a multiplicity of drawbacks which detract from their usefulness. These problems, experienced routinely and even when the cages are operating as intended, are thus particularly onerous.
For example, nearly all prior art poultry cages employ, in one form or another, a gate assembly that is adapted to allow access to the inside of the individual cage. However, these gate assemblies usually have a common shortcoming in that they are not adapted reliably to be retained in a closed position. As a result, users of such prior art cages have discovered that from time to time birds have escaped while being transported. In other instances, the gate assemblies have been damaged after opening prematurely while the vehicle is in motion. This is usually the result of the gate assembly coming into contact with an obstacle which brushes along the side of the trailer. Moreover, prior art poultry cages are difficult to repair when damaged and are not easily cleaned thereby promoting unsanitary conditions.
Still other significant problems with prior art poultry cages result from characteristics inherent in their design. The gate assemblies of such poultry cages are not recessed from the exterior surface of the trailer in the opened positions. Accordingly, the gate assemblies are chronically subject to damage even when operating as intended. In addition, the gate assemblies in their fully opened positions, though fully opened, nonetheless obstruct the openings of the cages. This results from the fact that gate assemblies in the fully opened positions are spaced downwardly from the tops of their respective cages relatively great distances. This makes loading and retrieval of the birds difficult for handlers. As importantly, loading and retrieval operations under such conditions are conducive to damaging the birds themselves.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have an apparatus for mounting a closure on a housing or the like which is particularly well suited to use on poultry cages; which dependably retains the closure in opened and closed positions at the selection of the operator; which is adapted to retain the closure in a fully recessed condition in both the opened and closed positions; and which in the opened position retains the closure in position to define the largest possible opening to facilitate access to the interior of the housing on which it is mounted. Further, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have an improved confining assembly having particular utility in the housing of creatures such as poultry.